Sen. Daniel Inouye Vouches For Ted Stevens In Corruption Trial

Washington, D.C. (AHN) - Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-HI) testified late Thursday as a character witness for his longtime friend, Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK), who has been charged with a seven-count indictment saying he had knowingly concealed $250,000 worth of gifts from oil services company VECO Corp.

The prosecution rested its case earlier that day after being allowed to have an additional witness to testify at the last minute. The jury heard the testimony of Dave Anderson, a former VECO employee, who had worked on the renovations on Stevens' Alaska home. The home improvements are at the heart of the charges against the senator, who allegedly falsified financial disclosure forms from 1999-2006.

Inouye, a 45-year veteran of the U.S. senate, was the first witness for Stevens' defense attorneys. During his testimony, the Hawaii lawmaker spoke detailed his close relationship with Stevens and said the Alaska senator's word is "good enough to take to the bank," according to ABC.

Stevens attorneys recently lost a motion, the fourth since the trial began three weeks ago, to have the charges dismissed or the judge declare a mistrial. They contended that the prosecution had withheld evidence that could have helped prove Stevens' innocence.

Errors by prosecutors in their handling of evidence have caused the judge to issue several strong rebukes questioning the integrity of the government's case. U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan also decided on Wednesday to exclude two key pieces of evidence presented by the prosecution: records about Anderson and another former VECO employee, Rocky Williams, who had worked on the renovations, and evidence about a 1999 car swap between Stevens and former VECO chief executive Bill Allen, the government's star witness.

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell is expected to testify on behalf of Stevens, only the tenth sitting U.S. senator in history to be indicted while in office, on Friday.